Overweight people will today be told there are "no excuses" for being obese as the Conservative party launches a new "responsibility" deal on public health.
The shadow health secretary, Andrew Lansley, will use a speech to the thinktank Reform, entitled No Excuses, No Nannying, to set out proposals on how the government and business can work together to address problems caused by poor diet, alcohol abuse and lack of exercise.Treatment to stop blindness finally approved for NHS - The Guardian 27th August 2008
An expensive new drug that could prevent thousands of people from going blind is today approved for use on the NHS after more than two years of deliberations.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) says that primary care trusts should foot the bill for Lucentis, which costs £761 for each injection, to prevent people with age-related wet macular degeneration from losing their sight.Doctors are today told to investigate the family history of every patient with high cholesterol in an attempt to track down tens of thousands of people who carry the gene that makes them a prime candidate for early death from heart attack.
Letter: Tory hypocrisy over teenagers' health - The Guardian 27th August 2008
I'm no fan of the Labour's record on public health or on young people, but Tory allegations that the government "neglects teenage health" (Report, August 25) reek of hypocrisy and poor judgment. After all, the Tories opposed the ban on tobacco advertising, failed to support the ban on smoking in public places, voted against increases in alcohol duty and - along with Labour - continue to block improvements in school sex and relationships education. All of these have been shown to have direct beneficial effects on the health of young people.
Ayurvedic medicine: Toxic metals in remedies for sale on internet - The Guardian 27th August 2008
One fifth of Indian herbal medicines available over the internet contain heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic, according to researchers who analysed 193 products obtained online. The scientists called for tighter regulation of so-called Ayurvedic medicines.
Fraud inquiry into fake sick notes sold on web - The Independent 27th August 2008
The NHS fraud squad is investigating a website that sells fake doctors' sick notes for £25 each.
The documents are almost identical to a genuine letter from a GP or hospital, and are printed with real doctors' names and feature notes that are stamped and signed.There's 'no excuse' for being fat, Tory health spokesman declares - The Independent 27th August 2008
There is "no excuse" for people to be too fat, the Conservatives will declare today as they launch a drive to encourage healthier lifestyles.
In a speech which points to Conservative demands for greater personal responsibility across social policy, the Tories' health spokesman Andrew Lansley will insist that people claiming biological or environmental causes for their obesity are simply making excuses.Woman detects cancer in e-mailed picture of girl - The Times 27th August 2008
A mother detected symptoms of cancer in a photograph of a baby girl she had never met.
Madeleine Robb, 32, was chatting online with Megan Santos, 32, from Tampa, Florida, who sent a picture of her one-year-old daughter, Rowan.Eyesight of thousands to be saved after Nice approves drug - The Telegraph 27th August 2008
Patients at risk of going blind will have their sight saved under a unique deal announced by the NHS drugs rationing watchdog.
Timeline of the fight to get drugs to help people going blind - The Telegraph 27th August 2008
Patients at risk of going blind will have their sight saved under a unique deal announced by the NHS drugs rationing watchdog.
The patient, believed to be an asylum seeker in his 30s from Somalia, East Africa, is the first to be diagnosed in Britain with extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB).
His case was picked up in Glasgow in January but a court order detaining him in hospital for treatment lapsed after his condition stabilised and he travelled south to Leeds, West Yorks.IVF wife sues over delays that made her use donor eggs- Daily Mail 27th August 2008
A pregnant woman is suing her health trust after she was forced to conceive using a donated egg because of delays in treating her.
Greta Mason, 42, claims a barrage of unnecessary fertility tests followed by a six-year wait for treatment meant her eggs were too old to be used and she could only conceive using a donor.Thousands who are at risk of going blind will be eligible for sight-saving drugs after a U-turn by the Health Service's rationing body.
Wet age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness.Overweight? It's all your own fault, insist the Tories- Daily Mail 27th August 2008
People who are fat have nobody to blame but themselves and must take responsibility for their condition, according to the Conservatives.
Health spokesman Andrew Lansley will speak out today as he outlines a raft of measures to tackle spiralling levels of obesity.Thousands of heart-risk children to be put on statins - Daily Mail 27th August 2008
Thousands of children whose parents have a genetic defect which causes heart attacks are to be tested to see if they too are at risk.
Under guidelines approved on Tuesday, those young as two will be screened for the inherited cholesterol disorder.
The children could then be put on statins, which can help prevent premature heart disease.Patients to get sight-saving drug - BBC Health News 26th August 2008
All patients in England suffering from a disease which causes blindness are to get access to a sight-saving drug.
Lucentis treats age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of sight loss in the country.
The drug is already available in Scotland, while Wales and Northern Ireland have said they will fund it.NHS funding 'risk to cancer care' - BBC Health News 26th August 2008
Cancer services risk missing out on vital funds because the system is not sophisticated enough to deal with complex care, a government report says.
Consultants were asked to look at how cancer care was affected by payment by results - a funding system started in 2003 in England to boost competition.Magnets 'could cut NHS drug bill' - BBC Health News 26th August 2008
Cancer and arthritis drugs could become much cheaper to make by using magnets during the manufacturing process, researchers say.
A University of Edinburgh team has developed a more streamlined method of making protein-based drugs, which are made by growing cell cultures in a lab.Super surgery fears remain intense - BBC Health News 26th August 2008
Contracts are being negotiated - bids are going in. The much fought over super surgeries in England are becoming a reality. But who will run them and why are GPs still so angry?
Grimsby is one of the most deprived parts of England.
UK Health News 08/27/2008
Wednesday 27 August 2008
Posted by Kieran at 11:30 0 comments
UK Health News 08/26/2008
Tuesday 26 August 2008
Letter: Switch transport funds to cycling - The Guardian 22nd August 2008
Some have dared hope that Britain's haul of Olympic cycling medals will prompt a cycling revival and solve the nation's obesity crisis ('Put cycling on school curriculum', August 21). This may happen, but only if we invest significantly more in cycle-friendly infrastructure. Cycling is recognised - along with walking - as the physical activity most accessible to the two-thirds of Britons who do not presently reach even minimum recommended levels of activity. But few will try cycling while our streets are so traffic-dominated and hostile. So while 47% of children would like to cycle to school, for example, only 3% do.
tags: Bicycles, Health, News, UHN, The Guardian
The benefits of walking to school - The Guardian 22nd August 2008
Parents are keen for children to adopt healthier habits - such as walking to school - but safety concerns often clash with best intentions
tags: Physical Activity, Health, News, Schools, UHN, The Guardian
How to get the most out of school meals - The Guardian 22nd August 2008
After years of campaigns and controversy, school meals are now healthier than before - but there is some way to go before all menus change
tags: Health, News, UHN, Schools, Diet, Nutrition, The Guardian
Anti-natal: Zoe Williams on parenting - The Guardian 22nd August 2008
You know how I hate to repeat myself, but I repeat: if you are not pregnant for the first time, right now, go and read something else. You'll just be bored if you stay here.\n\nRight, where were we? Weight gain in pregnancy. As C said, while I was standing at a mirror bitching and moaning at my horrible arse in my disgusting trousers: "Did you expect to do a whole pregnancy without putting on any weight?" NoofcourseIdidn'tstupid. But I thought it would be more mysterious. I didn't think it would be as workaday as just eating all the time and ergo getting fat. But we established last week, if that's how you are, physiologically, that's how you are. Surrender to it!
tags: Obesuty, Pregnancy, Diet, Nutrition, UHN, The Guardian
UK has more people of pensionable age than children under 16 | - The Guardian 22nd August 2008
For the first time, the UK has more people of pensionable age than children under 16, the Office for National Statistics revealed yesterday.
Confirmation of the ageing nature of Britain's population comes as the improvement in mortality rates seen in the second half of the 20th century is shown to have accelerated during this decade.tags: The Guardian, Health, News, UHN, Population Dynamics
NHS dentists in England extracting more teeth - The Guardian 22nd August 2008
NHS dentists in England are extracting more teeth and providing patients with fewer x-rays, fillings and crowns, official figures revealed yesterday.
The NHS Information Centre said treatments involving the fitting or repairing of false teeth accounted for 38% of complex dental activity in 2003-04. This rose to 48% in 2007-08. At the same time, extractions increased from 7% to 8% of dentists' workload, but the proportion of time spent on preparing and fitting crowns fell from 48% to 35% and fillings from 28% to 26%.tags: Statisitical Data, Dental Health, Health, News, UHN, The Guardian
The NHS should offer infertile couples more and wider treatment to help end the IVF postcode lottery, government advisers said today.\n\nNHS trusts in England should make IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) a higher priority when drawing up spending plans by considering the often unseen effects of infertility on mental health and general wellbeing, the Expert Group on Commissioning NHS Infertility Provision said.
tags: Human Fertility, Health Service Economics, Financial Management, NHS, Health, News, UHN, The Guardian
Diary of terminally ill woman who chose euthanasia - The Guardian 23rd August 2008
When Marc Weide's mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, she chose euthanasia. Here, we publish his shockingly frank diary of her final days
tags: Palliative Care, Ethics, Euthanasia, Health, News, UHN, The Guardian
Bad science: Can obsessing over sport actually improve your health? - The Guardian 23rd August 2008
What I particularly enjoy is the spectacle of fat people - ideally drinking beer - watching television, while somewhere on the other side of the world citizens of all nations are getting some nice exercise in the Olympics (throwing javelins, jumping over metal bars, climbing lamp-posts with banners, and running away from the water cannon).
tags: Psychology, Health, News, UHN, The Guardian
Drug companies are spending millions of pounds every year on all-expenses-paid trips to conferences around the world for doctors and other hospital staff, in what critics say is a massive marketing exercise dressed up as medical education.
tags: Pharmaceutical Industry, Ethics, Health, Medical Education, UHN, The Guardian
From offensive road signs to bad jokes about silver surfers, age discrimination is one of the besetting problems of our times
tags: Population Dynamics, Ageing, Health, News, UHN, The Observer
Brian Moreton: Damning the demon drink won't deal with a greater ill - The Observer 24th August 2008
My headmaster once carpeted me for truanting. Golf before grades was our teenage version of guns before butter. He aspired to be Yoda, this pedagogue, but with better word order. 'By absconding from school, you have this afternoon missed Dr Roy's excellent annual lecture on astronomy. I consider that punishment enough. Run along.' Twit. It briefly occurred to me to say that missing double maths the following morning would pain me to the soul, but too briefly and not quickly enough.
tags: Alcohol, Health, News, The Observer, UHN
Poverty is UK's hidden child killer - The Observer 24th August 2008
Government has failed to tackle the epidemic of chronic illness and early deaths among the most disadvantaged in society, says a new report
tags: Equity, Poverty, Deprivation, Mortality, Health, News, UHN, The Observer
Letters: Drug company marketing - The Guardian 25th August 2008
Your story detailing the level of incentives paid by big drug companies to medical professionals exposes what appears to be attempt by these companies to buy favours (Drug giants accused over doctors' perks, August 23). This widespread activity seems to go beyond what is normally understood a "perk" given for some minor service rendered. We give these professionals our trust; they know best, we assume, and advise us on what medicines we need to take to maintain our health. How can this trust be maintained in the face of such practices? The companies themselves already make enormous profits from prices for drugs; they realise that spending a few thousands on sending doctors on foreign trips is worth it.
tags: The Guardian, Pharmaceutical Industry, Ethics, Health, Medical Education, UHN
Specialists question decision not to fund drugs for kidney cancer - The Guardian 25th August 2008
The government's drug advisory body has defended its methods of assessing what cancer treatments should be offered to patients after some of the country's most eminent cancer specialists told it to "get its sums right".
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) issued a statement at the weekend explaining its methodology after 26 oncologists - including the directors of oncology at two of Britain's biggest cancer hospitals - wrote to the Sunday Times and called for "radical change" in the way Nice makes its decisions.tags: NHS, Cancer, Drug Therapy, Rationing, Evidence Based Practice, Cost-Effectiveness, Health, News, UHN
Elderly 'go hungry in hospital' - BBC Health News 25th August 2008
Elderly people are going hungry in hospital because staff fail to ensure they are fed, a charity has said.
An Age Concern study of 110 English and Welsh NHS trusts found 43% did not run protected mealtimes - where non-urgent work stops to make sure patients eat.tags: Hospitals, Health, News, Diet, Nutrition, Older People, Ethics, UHN, BBC Health News
Caesarean babies' 'diabetes risk' - BBC Health News 25th August 2008
Children born by Caesarean section have a 20% higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes than those born naturally, says a report in PubMed journal.
This form of diabetes, which can start in early childhood, is on the rise in Europe and scientists are unsure why.tags: Obstetrics, Diabetes, Health, News, UHN, BBC Health News
Claire Young strutted to television fame as a finalist on this year’s The Apprentice wearing her trademark four-inch high-heeled shoes.
A fast-talking, tough businesswoman, it appeared that nothing could floor her — she threatened that if she won the hit show, she’d ‘shake-up’ the formidible Sir Alan Sugar’s businesses.tags: Health, News, Back Pain, Podiatry, Orthopaedics, UHN, Daily Mail
For some multiple sclerosis sufferers, just getting out of bed is tough.
For 43-year-old father-of-three Jon Salisbury, getting up took up to an hour and involved the help of his wife or his children.tags: Multiple Sclerosis, Drug Therapy, Health, News, UHN, Daily Mail
Doctors are keeping cancer patients in the dark about new drugs that could extend their lives.
A quarter of specialists questioned for a poll published today say they hide the facts about treatments if they are awaiting official approval from the Government’s drug rationing body NICE.tags: Cancer, Drug Therapy, Communication, Medical Staff, Health, News, UHN, Daily Mail, Ethics
Earlier this month, the Royal College of Midwives warned the Government that problems in Britain's delivery wards were reaching a crisis point as staffing levels were not keeping pace with our increasing birth rate.
Here, newly-qualified midwife Sarah Cameron, 35, who works in a busy London maternity unit, shares her work diary with ADELE WATERS.tags: Midwifery, Health, News, UHN, Daily Mail
Surgeons saved my sex life by vaporising my painful prostate - Daily Mail 26th August 2008
Most men over 50 have an enlarged prostate, and every year 40,000 have surgery to relieve a blockage which can lead to a long stay in hospital.
Roger Vause, 65, a computer engineer from Wellingborough, Northants, underwent a new technique so he could go home the same day. He tells CAROL DAVIS his story, and his surgeon explains the procedure.Ask the doctor: Diabetics must look after their kidneys... - Daily Mail 26th August 2008
Dr Martin Scurr has been treating patients for more than 30 years and is one of the country's leading GPs. Here he tackles kidneys and hives...
tags: Kidney Diseases, Health, Dermatology, UHN, Daily Mail
So-called 'smug marrieds' may actually have a scientific basis for extolling the benefits of stepping down the aisle.
New research shows that not only does having a good marriage keep you healthy, it can also prolong life by up to five years.tags: Relationships, Health, News, UHN, Daily Mail
Dying at home - rather than in a hospital - is something many of us say we would prefer, according to a recent YouGov survey. But although the Government has said it will try to make it easier, it's still an option denied to many people.
Here, in a moving and ultimately uplifting account, writer NICK MAES describes his mother Marjorie's death, and why it was so important for her whole family that it happened in the place she loved best...tags: Palliative Care, Mortality, Ethics, Health, News, UHN, Daily Mail
The traditional English breakfast has long suffered a reputation for being a 'heart attack on a plate' with its high fat and calorie content.
Now those who still regularly enjoy tucking into a fry-up have something else to worry about - a 63 per cent higher risk of bowel cancer.tags: Bowel Cancer, Cancer, Diet, Nutrition, Health, News, UHN, Daily Mail
For most people, the Victorian era evokes Dickensian scenes of wool mills, orphanages, and workhouses full of malnourished, overworked children, and adults living short, harsh lives.
But research, published next month in the Journal Of The Royal Society Of Medicine, has found that not only did many of our Victorian forebears live longer than we do today - but they were also healthier and had stronger immune systems.Children could be taught sex education from the age of four, under plans by MPs.
They are calling on the Government to ensure that advice on relationships, contraception and sexually transmitted diseases is compulsory in all primary and secondary schools.tags: Sex Education, Sexual Behaviour, Sexual Health, Children, Ethics, Health, News, Schools, UHN, Daily Mail
More than 1,000 premature births could be avoided every year if women were screened for infections early in pregnancy, a British expert in early births said on Monday.
Dr Ronnie Lamont, a consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology, said bacteria and fungi are responsible for just under half of all babies born before 37 weeks.tags: Obstetrics, Mass Screening, Infection Control, Health, News, UHN, Daily Mail
As a child safety measure in the car, its importance could never be underplayed.
Researchers, however, yesterday warned that the convenience of the portable car baby seat is having some far less desirable effects.tags: Health and Safety, Physical Activity, Infants, Health, News, UHN, Daily Mail
Eating two eggs a day could help you lose weight and cut cholesterol levels, say researchers.
Previously, there was thought to be a direct link between consuming cholesterol-rich foods such as eggs and an increase in blood cholesterol levels, which raises the risk of heart disease.tags: Diet, Nutrition, Cholesterol, Obesity, UHN, Daily Mail, Health, News
Britain is the unfairest country in the world - The Telegraph 26th August 2008
Are you better off than your parents? Will your children be better off than you? I defy anyone to say they aren’t instantly stirred by such simple but life-defining questions.
Even the most guarded, hardened Briton will eventually crack with emotion — be it heartfelt appreciation of the sacrifices made by parents, bitter regrets over talents unfulfilled, or the deep pride from seeing the achievements of children, now grown and flown.tags: Poverty, Deprivation, Equity, Health, News, UHN, The, The Telegraph
Caesarean babies at risk of diabetes - The Times 26th August 2008
Babies delivered by Caesarean section have a significantly higher risk of developing diabetes in childhood than those born naturally, a study suggests.
A review of 20 studies on children with type 1 diabetes found those delivered by Caesarean section had a 20 per cent increased risk of developing the condition.Cancer patients kept in dark about ‘too expensive’ drugs - Times Online
Doctors are deciding against telling cancer patients about expensive new treatments to avoid causing distress when they find out that the NHS is unwilling to pay for them.
A quarter of specialists questioned in a survey admitted to hiding the facts about new drugs for bone marrow cancer that may be difficult to obtain on the NHS.tags: Cancer, Drug Therapy, Communication, Medical Staff, Health, News, UHN, Ethics, The Times
Letters: Perks, prescriptions and pills - The Guardian 26th August 2008
Once again the relationship between doctors and the pharmaceutical industry is presented as a moral mire into which doctors are sinking (Drug giants accused over doctors' perks, August 23).
tags: Pharmaceutical Industry, Medical Education, Ethics, Medical Staff, Health, News, UHN, The Guardian
Aida Edemariam on Baroness Thatcher and the nature of dementia - The Guardian 26th August 2008
The confirmation this weekend that Baroness Thatcher suffers from dementia is only really surprising in its particulars - but they are moving particulars, nonetheless. The woman who, as her daughter Carol writes in her new memoir, A Swim-On Part in the Goldfish Bowl, "had a memory like a website", and was capable, during Prime Minister's Questions, of "not only reading and analysing briefs but also virtually knowing them off by heart," now often forgets the beginning of sentence by the time she has got to the end. She also thinks her home is in Grantham (her birthplace in Lincolnshire) when it is in London, and has had to be told that her husband Denis is dead
tags: Dementia, Mental Health, Health, News, Ageing, Stroke, UHN, The Guardian
Alice Wignall on the health benefits of singing - The Guardian 26th August 2008
From church choirs to karaoke bars, singing has always lifted people's spirits. But could it be good for their physical health too? Alice Wignall finds out
tags: Physical Activity, Health, News, UHN, The Guardian
Peta Bee on the use of precious metals in medicine - The Guardian 26th August 2008
Gold injections can treat arthritis and silver coating fights hospital infections. Peta Bee reveals the surprisingly practical uses of precious metals in medicine
tags: Drug Therapy, Arthritis, Infection Control, Health, News, UHN, The Guardian
Tories say Labour neglects teenage health - The Guardian 26th August 2008
The Conservatives yesterday charged the Labour government with creating a "teenage timebomb", presiding over a deterioration of teenage health that has seen the number of young people admitted to hospital annually rise by 23% since 2000.
Using government statistics, the Tories issued a dossier showing that on six counts teenage health had got "steadily worse" since 2000, with the deterioration even more marked among early teens.tags: Health, News, Young People, UHN, The Guardian
Posted by Kieran at 11:31 0 comments
UK Health News 08/25/2008
Monday 25 August 2008
Surgeons prepare for world’s first full-face transplant - The Times 22nd August 2008
Following success of partial transplants, British surgeons are among those aiming to conduct first full-face transplants
tags: Transplantation Services, Plastic Surgery, Personal Identity, Health, News, The Times, UHN
Now experts say HRT IMPROVES quality of life despite the health risks - Daily Mail 22nd August 2008
Women gain significant benefits in quality of life from taking HRT even years after the menopause, say researchers.
Older women enjoy improvements in many aspects of health when taking Hormone Replacement Therapy.tags: Hormone Replacement Therapy, Health, News, Ageing, Womens Health, UHN, Daily Mail
Five-year-old Harry is on the verge of meltdown over misplaced trainers. Louis, seven, is demolishing biscuits, and a series of complex arrangements are being made to collect four-yearold Charlotte from a birthday party.
It is a comfortably chaotic scene, familiar to thousands run ragged at the tail end of summer holidays.tags: Drugs of Abuse, Health, News, UHN, Daily Mail
I say missus! What do Ken Dodd and Madonna have in common? - Daily Mail 23rd August 2008
Answer: They've both suffered from hernias - and that's no joke for anyone.
One in ten of us will suffer from a hernia at some point - making hernia repair the most common surgical procedure in the world. About 100,000 of these operations are performed in British hospitals every year.Is the fluoride in our water really good for our teeth? - Daily Mail 23rd August 2008
The Government wants 40 per cent of England's water supply to be fluoridated to reduce high levels of tooth decay. But its critics say it has been linked to conditions such as hypothyrodism (underactive thyroid gland). Here we explain what you should know.
tags: Fluoridation, Dental Health, Health, News, Water, UHN, Daily Mail
The good fuel guide: What to eat to keep you sporting fit - Daily Mail 23rd August 2008
Did you know the foods you eat can have a major impact on the stamina, precision and strength you can expect from your exercise? Find out how to fast-track your way to fitness with our easy-to-follow menu plan.
tags: Diet, Nutrition, Physical Activity, Health, News, UHN, Daily Mail
Childless couples could soon get more IVF treatment on the NHS after moves to end the postcode lottery.\n\nA panel convened by ministers on Friday called on NHS trusts to give a much higher priority to IVF in spending plans.\n\nThe Expert Group on Commissioning NHS Infertility Provision said in a report that the low priority given to IVF by primary care trusts should be reassessed in the light of evidence about links between infertility and depression, stress and relationship breakdown.
tags: Human Fertility, Financial Management, Health, UHN, Health Service Economics, In Vitro Fertilization, Primary Care, NHS, Daily Mail
One of Britain's leading hospitals has made more than £4million by giving livers from UK donors to private foreign patients.
Over the past five years, surgeons from King's College Hospital in South London have performed 50 liver transplants, with each patient paying around £80,000.
Of these, 22 came from the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.tags: Transplantation Services, Ethics, NHS, Kidney Diseases, Health, News, UHN, Daily Mail
Thousands of personal records lost each month - The Telegraph 23rd August 2008
Thousands of computer records containing personal information about members of the public are being lost every month – with the rate of loss increasing, new figures reveal.
tags: The Telegraph, Data Protection, Health, News, UHN
British doctors perform world first robot surgery - The Telegraph 23rd August 2008
British doctors have carried out the world's first operation using a robot to repair a condition that kills 7,000 people a year.
tags: Medical Technology, Health, News, UHN, Surgery, The Telegraph
An 'ethical' agency: Quintessentially Models - The Telegraph 23rd August 2008
Sara Philippidis, 25, has been modelling for eight years. Originally from Australia, she lives in London and joined Quintessentially Models in January from another London agency.
tags: Personal Identity, Eating Disorders, Health, News, UHN, The Telegraph
London Fashion Week should have its public funding withdrawn because of the fashion industry’s failure to tackle the "size zero" culture, a leading model agent has said.
tags: Personal Identity, Eating Disorders, Health, News, UHN, The Telegraph
Thatcher's struggle with dementia - The Sunday Telegraph 24th August 2008
Baroness Thatcher's daughter Carol has revealed details of her mother's struggle with dementia for the first time.
tags: Alzheimers Disease, Health, News, UHN, The Sunday Telegraph
Fewer people treated by NHS dentists despite rise in numbers - The Times 21st August 2008
New figures published today show that fewer people are seeing an NHS dentist than before the new dental contract came into force in 2006.
The data, released by the NHS Information Centre, will intensify pressure on the Government over the dental contract, which has been condemned as a failure by the British Dental Association and the opposition parties.tags: Dental Health, NHS, Statisitical Data, Health, News, UHN, The Times
Benefits of HRT justify a rethink, say researchers - The Times 22nd August 2008
Women who take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) gain benefits in sleep and reduced joint pain.
A study looked at the benefits in older women of taking HRT, and concluded that they were significant.tags: Hormone Replacement Therapy, Health, News, Ageing, Womens Health, UHN
Case study: a long wait for IVF treatment - or go private - The Times 22nd August 2008
Layla Stephen, 33, and her husband, Andrew, 34, are among the thousands of couples who have been denied IVF because they live in the wrong postcode.
Her situation was especially poignant because although she lives in Portsmouth, she works in Chichester. Had she lived there, she would have qualified for free care.tags: Human Fertility, Financial Management, Health, UHN, Health Service Economics, In Vitro Fertilization, Primary Care, NHS
Infertile couples to be priority for NHS IVF treatment - The Times 22nd August 2008
Infertile couples could soon be offered wider and more consistent treatment on the NHS under the first proposals from the government panel that has the task of ending the IVF postcode lottery.
NHS trusts should give IVF a much higher importance when drawing up spending plans, by taking into account the effects of infertility on mental health and general wellbeing, the influential group will say today.tags: Human Fertility, Financial Management, Health, UHN, Health Service Economics, In Vitro Fertilization, Primary Care, NHS
Face transplants: a better life beats a longer life - The Sunday Times 24th August 2008
Peter Butler says the benefits of his face transplant surgery outweigh the risks it poses
THREE partial face transplants have been performed worldwide and they have all been successful. Overnight three people were given back a life where they could interact with friends and family as well as strangers without feeling ostracised for their facial disfigurement.tags: Transplantation Services, Plastic Surgery, Personal Identity, Health, News, The Sunday Times, UHN
Top doctors slam NHS drug rationing - The Sunday Times 24th August 2008
Britain's top cancer consultants have accused the government’s drugs rationing body of ignoring the plight of patients forced to sell their cars and remortgage their houses to pay for cancer treatments freely available in Europe.\n\nTwenty-six professors blame the severe restrictions imposed by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) on its failure to “get its sums right”.
tags: Cost-Effectiveness, Health, News, UHN, Cancer, Drug Therapy, The Sunday Times
Pioneering face transplant may become available on NHS - The Sunday Times 24th August 2008
Face transplants could be provided on the NHS after regulators confirmed this weekend that they were in early talks to authorise state funding.
With a team of British surgeons planning to carry out the world’s first full face transplants on four patients, the body that decides whether to fund highly specialised treatments said it was preparing to make an assessment for the NHS.tags: Transplantation Services, Plastic Surgery, Personal Identity, Health, News, The Sunday Times, UHN
Inside Medicine: The physiotherapist - BBC Health News 24th August 2008
In a series focusing on medical specialties, BBC News meets physiotherapist Hubert van Griensven.
Physiotherapy is the branch of medicine which helps improve movements in the body, which have been lost following illness, accident or ageing.tags: Physiotherapy, NHS, Health, News, UHN, BBC Health News
How an aspirin a day can keep heart attacks away for the middle-aged - Daily Mail 24th August 2008
Middle aged people should take a daily aspirin to prevent heart attacks and strokes, doctors say.
A major study of nearly 12,000 people found that the majority of healthy men over the age of 48, and women over 57, would benefit from the drug.tags: Aspirin, Health, News, UHN, Daily Mail, Heart Diseases
Doctors are failing to give women the right level of pain relief, researchers say.
It has always been assumed that women's bodies give them a higher pain threshold than men, to help them cope with the agony of childbirth.tags: Womens Health, Obstetrics, Pain, Health, News, UHN, Daily Mail
The NHS drugs rationing body is forcing cancer patients to remortgage their homes to pay for medicines freely available elsewhere in Europe, senior doctors warned yesterday.
More than 20 leading cancer consultants said they were 'dismayed' at guidance issued by NICE - the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence - to refuse four kidney cancer drugs on the NHS.tags: Cancer, Drug Therapy, Rationing, Evidence Based Practice, Cost-Effectiveness, NHS, Health, News, UHN, Daily Mail
Labour's record on the NHS came under unprecedented attack yesterday from one of Britain's most senior doctors.
Professor Paul Goddard, a former president of the Royal Society of Medicine, accused the Government of leading the NHS into 'catastrophic meltdown'.
The award-winning professor directed particular anger at the drugs-rationing body NICE, which he accused of virtually killing patients to save money.tags: Rationing, Cancer, Health, News, UHN, Cost-Effectiveness, Evidence Based Practice, Daily Mail
Doctor's diary - The Telegraph 25th August 2008
ames Le Fanu on the latest health stories hitting the headlines
Life is, for the most part, ambidextrous, with the exception of us humans, 90 per cent of whom are right-handed.
This goes back to that extraordinary moment a million-plus years ago when the brains of our ancestors not only tripled in size, but the functions of the two cerebral hemispheres became specialised. The left was given over to the novel faculty of language; the right to manual dexterity.tags: Equity, Health, News, UHN, The Telegraph
Finger on the pulse - The Telegraph 25th August 2008
Disrespect towards older people is endemic in our society, says Max Pemberton
Last week, it was revealed that for the first time there are now more pensioners than children in Britain: 11.58 million men over 65 and women over 60 compared to 11.52 million under 16s.
This has prompted much discussion about "grey power". Yet older people are some of the most voiceless and marginalised in our society. Their interests are ignored politically, they are economically vulnerable and the contributions they could make to society are largely untapped.tags: Older People, Health, News, UHN, The Telegraph
Cancer: 'Jodie celebrated life - she didn't fear death' - The Telegraph 25th August 2008
A 13-year-old identical twin who died of cancer last month wanted to help others live, her mother tells Cassandra Jardine
Six weeks after the death of her 13-year-old daughter Jodie, Michelle Hudson, 43, struggles to maintain a cheery smile.tags: Cancer, Young People, Mortality, Health, News, UHN, The Telegraph
Alexander Technique: the great curer of back pain - The Telegraph 25th August 2008
A new study has proved the technique works best for relieving tension, reports Maria Fitzpatrick
If you're slouching over your newspaper, this should make you sit up straight: finally, we've found a cure for chronic back pain - and it doesn't involve painkillers, surgery or uncomfortable manipulation.tags: Complementary Therapies, Back Pain, Health, News, UHN, The Telegraph
Senior doctor accuses Government of destroying NHS - The Telegraph 25th August 2008
One of Britain's most senior doctors has criticised the Government for leading the NHS into "catastrophic meltdown".
Professor Paul Goddard, a former president of the Royal Society of Medicine, said Labour's obsession with bureaucracy and political correctness had resulted in dire care for patients.
The radiology specialist also hit out at the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, NICE, claiming the organisation put finances first.tags: NHS, Cancer, Drug Therapy, Rationing, Evidence Based Practice, Cost-Effectiveness, Health, News, UHN, The Telegraph
Early diagnosis helps patients to plan for the future - The Times 25th Augst 2008
Only one in three people with dementia ever gets a formal diagnosis from a doctor, but the gradual, inexorable decline of memory and acuity will be all too visible to relatives and carers who see their loved ones slip away slowly in later life.
Evidence suggests that the main way to prevent dementia is to live an active life, both mentally and physically. But, as the cases of Iris Murdoch, Terry Pratchett and now Margaret Thatcher testify, degenerative disease can strike even the most intellectually formidable characters. Indeed, dementia used to be considered not so much a disease as a life stage.tags: Alzheimers Disease, Health, News, Diagnosis, Older People, UHN, The Times
Priory clinics' plan to cut sick pay angers nurses - The Times 25th Augst 2008
The Priory chain of clinics, Britain's leading provider of private psychiatric care, famous as a retreat for overwrought celebrities, is being threatened with legal action after cutting sick pay for its staff.
Unions say that they have been inundated with complaints from upset and angry nurses after attempts by managers at the Priory Group to cut costs. Philip Scott, the group's chief executive, wants to cut nurses' employment rights from next month after accusing them of absence levels of “epidemic proportions”. He argues that the Priory's “generous” sick-pay scheme gives no incentive for healthcare workers to come to work.tags: Pay, Private Sector, Nursing, Health, News, UHN, The Times
Will this hurt, doctor? Much more if you are a woman - The Independent on Sunday 24th August 2008
Women experience more severe pain, more often and for longer than men but are less likely to get the right treatment, researchers have discovered.\n\nDifferent hormones, body composition and central nervous systems means women are more susceptible to a range of painful conditions, according to the International Association for the Study of Pain.
tags: Pain, Obstetrics, Womens Health, Health, News, UHN, The Independent on Sunday
More women to get cancer jab - The Independent on Sunday 24th August 2008
All women aged up to 24 could be offered a vaccine against one of the most common causes of cervical cancer in an extension to a multimillion-pound immunisation programme.
tags: Immunisation, Cervical Cancer, Health, News, UHN, Womens Health, The Independent on Sunday
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